New Girl
by AliceLexiMonroe
Summary: (Revised Wammy's Little Troublemaker) With only fragments left of her memory after a 'fall' off a three story building, the heroine of this story doesn't have much to go on. She's bored, trapped in a hospital bed. That is until a lovely gentleman comes to see her with an offer that could change not only her life, but the lives of many others too. OCx?
1. Introduction

_Hello~_

 _This is the edited reworking of my first Fanfiction, that I'd like to continue. I had fun writing it, and people had fun reading it :) so, without further delay (4 years is kinda enough xD), I don't own Death Note._

 _But I do own Poppy and any other character that isn't in death note originally. And, as always please review because it genuinely makes my day. Good or bad, gimme feedback so I can Improve._

 _And, if you want chapters, let me know. But uh, you'd have to read the unedited version first. And your chapter would be the next one. Hope you guys enjoy_!

Also! Super shout out to the wonderful JDSnape who proof read and pointed out all my spelling errors. You should check our their stories too! I'm currently reading Devil's Children and I can't recommend it enough :)

 _ **Quick disclaimer: If you relate to this chapter at all, by which I mean, if you feel like self-harming or taking your life, Don't do it. there's always someone ready to talk to you. It's just a Google search away. Or, call a loved one. Or, whoever you want too.**_

 _ **Also. This story is, as of now, rated MA (18) because it covers a lot of themes not suitable for teens. But this is a guide. If you don't want to read something of this nature, go back to the search menu now :) You've been warned, kay~?**_

 **000000000000000000000000000**

 _Chapter 1-Introduction_

Suffering.

Day in, Day out.

Suffering from the second I wake to the second I fall asleep. It even plagues my dreams. Why must life go on like this?

Maybe It's fate punishing me, if there was such a thing. Maybe I should just give in and find another way out?

No, That would be selfish. My existence in life is to help others. It's my purpose, one could say. At least, that's what I decided when I woke up here. Who knows if I'd ever get the chance to help anybody after waking up here.

I heaved a heavy sigh before sitting up from my curled up position. I peered around the room to look for any changes in the environment around me. Nothing new. Not that anything ever changed but it was just programmed into me to check. Here I am, still stuck in a bed designed for the sick.

I guess one _could_ call me sick. Only on technicalities. And yet some people do. Apparently, my mind was all wrong. I had no understanding of emotions but an exceptional IQ. Irony at its finest. I can still feel emotion, but I can't put a name to them.

Not that I'd known for very long. Since I woke up the doctors have been checking my brain function. Now, to be fair to them I understand the need to check on me and make sure everything lit up properly. But why do they care if I can walk or swallow? _And_ after a while of being poked and prodded? It gets tedious.

First, it was the Neurologists with their MRI scans and when the images came back, with what I assumed was, with something like a bruised peach they decided to send in the Psychologists with their puzzles and games. And I passed with not only flying colours, but I fell within the top 1%.

Sounds great right? I'm a genius. But it's not all sunshine and rainbows. Imagine if you could take a tumble off a jumping and you'd just get smarter every time. Everyone would be doing it. However, there are big downsides.

A slight issue? My short-term memory is a little fried, but my doctor said that it was more than likely temporary. Every day I wake up and try and remember yesterday but it's like grabbing at a hazy dream. But that's not my problem. What's more concerning than that? I didn't remember anything before waking up here. Oh. And I can't talk, and let's not even talk about the broken bones and internal bleeding.

In all honesty, I _could_ move my mouth and make words come out. I just chose not too. Not any more.

I gave up speaking, and the doctors couldn't work out why. Emotional trauma; Is what's written on my report. Although each kind of doctor had a different theory. In reality, I wasn't sure myself. I just knew that I didn't want to talk, ever again. It served me no purpose.

I sighed again and laid back on the hospital bed. I forget why I'm hospital sometimes and then I move and I get _oh so gently_ reminded. It turns out if you jump off the roof of a three-story building people aren't very happy with you. Well, that and it wasn't enough stories to end my misery.

One can only learn from their mistakes though, Right?

At the moment the doctors are refusing to discharge me on the grounds I might be a danger to myself and others. That struck a nerve with me. A danger to others? I often wondered what it would be like to hurt someone else, would I hurt too? If that were true, It might be the only way for me to feel but that would be so selfish. Right? But to want to hurt someone else to inflict myself with pain is both sadistic and masochistic. Plus, I'm not too sure I want to hurt. The thought keeps cropping up in the back of my mind, and it's my only way to pass the time.

My thoughts were cut short, however, because my doctor swanned into my private room. He looked surprised, if not a bit overly cheery.

He walked over to the side of my bed and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose before speaking, "I have some good news for you, Poppet, Your grandfather is here to take you home".

I blinked a few times and sat up properly to look the door over. Grandfather? I mean, he could be. It's not like I remember who's related to me and who isn't. This just means I'll have to be extremely careful. I don't really want to go home with a stranger.

Once I'd focused again, Dr Reese, as his name tag read, smiled reassuringly at me then gestured the man to come in.

The door opened and an older man walked in. He was wearing a suit, an old-fashioned looking hat and smart looking glasses. The man himself looked roughly late 40's early 50's, greyish white hair that was cut short as far as I could see. I had trouble seeing too far away, I needed glasses since the accident but I'll be damned if I wore them.

The man walked to the end of my bed and smiled kindly. This caused his moustache to move ever so slightly. Now that he was closer, I could make out he had kind old blue eyes that were looking at me. My eyes narrowed. This isn't the way you'd greet your missing-for-weeks-possibly-deceased-granddaughter. No, this is how you'd greet a stranger without arousing suspicion. The chances of him being related to me have fallen to around 15%. He might just be awkward.

I shifted around slightly, playing with the elastic band that was around my wrist. One of my habits to help my focus. I looked at Dr Reese. The young doctor smiled at the man and then at me. How could he not see this isn't how people acted around family? He then excused himself politely to go get the paperwork and left us alone.

My heart was pounding in my chest, my anxiety playing up again. That was another possible new perk from the fall. The gentleman watched Dr Reese go and I restrained myself from yelling at him to come back and save me. Even in danger, unless it's life or death, I don't think I'd so much as whisper.

He then turned his attention back to me and walked to the side of my bed. From here, I could see the lines on his face from exhausting himself. He's a hard worker. He gives off the impression that he's under stress too, based on the bags under his eyes but he holds himself like he's calm and relaxed while maintaining the proper posture to be respectful. He seemed like a good man. Polite.

The man took his hat off and held it to his chest with both hands. I watched him and studied him for any other indications of character while he started to speak, "I'm very sorry for impersonating one of your loved ones, It was the only way to remove you from this hospital."

He had a strong but calming voice. I couldn't pinpoint the accent as my memory was faulty. I returned some respect and looked at his mouth to usher him into continuing talking. He's not my grandfather. Alright, well, I'm terrified and intrigued. Game on.

"My name is Watari. I own an orphanage for gifted children. If it's acceptable to you, I will take you there today. You'll have your own room and live with other young people like yourself. But, we can talk more about that later. " Watari finished explaining and I pondered it for a while before nodding slightly. And here I thought hospital records were confidential. But it does sound interesting.

It didn't seem like he was lying, Watari didn't give very much away. To be fair, anything was better than staying in bed caught up with one's disappearing thoughts. The boredom was like a disease in itself.

He smiled and looked around for a wheelchair, assuming I needed one to move around. I waved my hand slightly to gain his attention and pointed to myself. He tilted his head and then pulled a notepad and pen from his pocket and held them out for me. I leaned forward and took them carefully. Someone's been studying my notes.

I wrote my question down neatly;

" _What if I'm not gifted, Mr Watari?"_

He seemed puzzled by the question and paused to think through his reply. "I know you are gifted. But if you're worried about your abilities we have an entrance exam of sorts so you can prove to me you are clever." Watari said softly. No pressure then.

I nodded and threw the blankets off me. I swung my legs around to get up. This made Watari take a stay back and interject, "Please don't stress yourself, Miss."

Calling me Miss was a nice touch. I shook my head and stood up, holding on to the edge of the bed. I stumbled a bit but eventually got my balance. I picked up my notepad and wrote down quickly while leaning on the bed;

 _"I need to say goodbye to someone before we go"._

Watari looked surprised but said it was alright.

Dr Reese came back in with a wheelchair and froze in the doorway when he noticed my predicament, "Hey now, Poppet! You know you're not allowed to be up and moving for at the very least two more weeks!".

He rushed over to me, grabbed me by my shoulders and very assertively placed me in the wheelchair. That was going to hurt like a bitch from now until tomorrow. He needed to relax, but he was just starting his third shift in two days. He took the time and care to fold a light blanket over my lap.

I huffed and hid the notepad and pen under the blanket. Why was he so concerned about my health? My comfort? It made no difference to him. I decided I didn't like doctors very much... What's left of my pride doesn't want to let them help me, but I don't have a choice currently. But as people they were fine.

"My granddaughter wants to say goodbye to someone before we leave. Would that be alright?" Watari asked with a smile.

I couldn't see what was happening because the wheelchair was facing the wall but I assume the shuffling I heard what Dr Reese re-adjusting his white coat. He always did before he went to the paediatrics ward. I think he likes to look better for the kids.

"Sure, I know who Poppet wants to see," Dr Reese said chirpily and took the handles of the wheelchair and moved me out of my room to where I wanted to go.

Dr Reese and Watari exchanged small talk on the way to the children's ward. I didn't bother listening to them while I looked for my friend. I doubt my new guardian would be stupid enough to let anything slip. They mainly just discussed me and my progress anyways. Before I zoned them out, Watari made the excellent excuse that he hadn't seen me in years due to working abroad so he couldn't tell Dr Reese what I was like before the accident. I'm fairly sure that was a lie but it worked.

Butterflies were painted on the white walls and there were oversized footprints on the floor. All in bright wonderful colours. It seems to cheer the kids up if it looks brighter.

We passed a few doors and slowly the sound of giggling and shouting got increasingly louder from the room just ahead. I cracked a smile and heard Dr Reese sigh, "He's up to trouble again.. Poppet I swear, If you told him to do this...".

I gave the male doctor a glare and took that as my cue to stand up and shuffle through the door to see the disruption for myself.

"Be a good boy and at least comedown. It's not safe up there for you". One of the nurses tried ushering the boy down from up on top of his hiding spot.

I would've laughed at the sight if my sides didn't hurt so much. Two nurses were trying to convince a small boy with crazy spiked hair to get off the top of the cupboard and let them re-bandage his broken arm. He kept pulling off the casts for the first couple of weeks, but now he only had to endure bandages for the cuts and bruises.

I waved at the little boy and his grin grew wider as he climbed down from the cupboard like a monkey and ran over to hug me. It hurt, and I was more than a little winded, but I let him hug me all the same with a big smile and hid my pain. This little boy made waking up bearable.

Said little boy's name is Mickey. I called him Monkey because he loved to climb things. Well. I would if I talked.

"Hey, Poppie! How are you! I missed you!" Mickey slurred out hyperly and the two nurses looked at me in amazement. I'm going to guess they spend ages trying to coax him down. I gently ruffled Mickey's hair and shuffled us over to his bed.

Mickey giggled and hopped up on the bed while I gracelessly slumped on the mattress. Mickey put his head down on my lap like he always did and grinned up at me with his sparkly brown eyes. I could only smile back sadly. I was aware Watari was watching us from the doorway as the nurses left the room on Dr Reese's say so. I stroked Mickey's out of control hair back and out of his face, and again my better judgement, I sniffled. Mickey looked at me with confusion and then looked at the doctor, then at Watari, and he must've figured it out.

"No! You can't have my Poppie! Go away!" Mickey screamed at the two men stood in the door as he sat up and hugged me like I was going to disappear the second I was out the door.

I wrapped my arms around my little monkey and hummed quietly in his ear quietly as he started to cry. Mickey was the only one I had made a sound for. And it's a memory I haven't forgotten, thankfully. I wrote down in my notepad with some difficulty as he pinned my arms to my sides,

" _Don't worry my little monkey, I'll come to visit you all the time and I'll bring to all the sweets you like, The little purple ones~"_

I added a little poppy at the end. It was the name he had given to me.

 _*Memory Fragment*_  
When I first came to the hospital, I refused to stay in bed so I hauled my broken little self around until I stumbled, quite literally, into the children's ward and I saw Mickey right away.

He was refusing to let the doctors help him and I had to admit, I was impressed a little 8 years old managed to keep the doctors away. He was confused and scared. He didn't know who to trust. No one had _given_ him anything, but everyone was _asking_ something of him. I acted before I'd thought it through. I picked up a sweet from the bowl behind the nurse's desk and walked over. Dr Reese and two of his fellow doctors were there and I chanced that they wouldn't stop me. I was correct. Dr Reese intervened when a doctor tried to grab me and told them I was too fragile to hold. I shuffled over and offered the distressed child who was cowering under a table the purple sweetie and he smiled, wiped his nose and came out.

What surprised me is what Mickey did next, he looked around the room for something and both myself and the doctors watched this little human climb the bookshelf up to the top, without knocking anything over, and delicately picked up something. The medical staff present let their displeasure known verbally. I simply observed.

When he came back down he handed me a little poppy flower, and I have no idea where it came from to this day. He gave me the happiest smile I had ever seen and said, "Poppie! Hello poppie!".

I thought it was sweet and a few of the people present made adoring sounds. He held my hand after that, and he didn't let go for the rest of the day. Apparently, he had gotten out of his cast so the doctors were trying to apply the second cast. He was scared but I helped him breathe through it and squeezed his hand.

Afterwards, I gently took a hold of Mickey's rewrapped arm and took a marker off the table and wrote, 'My little monkey' on his new cast with a little monkey face next to it.

So ever since then, I was called Poppy by most of the staff, Poppet by Dr Reese because he knew it annoyed me and Poppie by Mickey. I smiled softly at the memory. It was a great memory, and I'm glad I kept that one. But remembering it now made me feel cold inside right now.

 _*End of Memory fragment*_

Mickey sniffled to stop his tears and nuzzled his face into my neck. "Promise?..." Said his timid little teary voice and I nodded then held out my hand with my pinky raised.

He rested his head on my shoulder and looked at my hand then giggled while wrapping his pinky around mine.

Dr Reese came over with the new bandages and gave Mickey a chuckle, "Don't you want Poppet to sign your new bandages before she goes home, Mickey?"

I looked at Mickey to see his response and he nodded then held out his slightly shaking arm. I covered Mickey's eyes. He had told me he didn't like to see his arm because it scared him. I didn't like seeing it either. Mickey put his free hand over mine to make sure I kept his eyes covered. The blonde doctor gently took the bandages off as quickly and painlessly as he could then stopped briefly to look at Mickey's arm.

It still looked horrible. The poor boy had been here longer then I had and he hadn't told anyone what had been done to him. His broken arm was now in the last stages of healing but the bruises and jagged cuts still looked nasty. Mickey whimpered and snuggled into my side as best he could to hide away. Poor Monkey. I felt my stomach twist slightly with a pang of what didn't feel nice at all. I stopped.

Was I feeling an emotion from Mickey's pain? Oh god. My stomach twisted further as I watched Dr Reese re-dress Mickey's arm softly as to not upset Mickey. I felt sick. Hearing Mickey in pain caused me pain in my chest and made me want to cry. Dr Reese seemed to notice my grim expression and waved his hand over my face to get my attention, "Hey, It's not that bad Poppet, Breathe".

I was known to have panic attacks and to stop breathing while my brain was too busy thinking all these dark thoughts. I let out a quick shaky breath and nodded. Mickey got to his feet with no enthusiasm and hesitantly collected a marker from a cart in the corner of his room before returning to me. He looked like he was going to cry again.

I smiled for him and wrote 'My little monkey~' on his bandage. He sniffled again and hugged me tight after I was done. I dropped my head and hummed in his ear to keep him calm. I didn't feel good about abandoning Mickey, but what choice did I have?

"You'll.. *sniffle* have to come to see me on... At Christmas, and on my birthday… Oh! And on all the holidays and then… whenever you're free." Mickey listed glumly while counting on his fingers. He couldn't quite bring his eyes up to look at mine.

I felt my eyes water and I looked at Dr Reese and Watari for help. Both smiled to different degrees but both looked sombre. Great help they both are. Mickey suddenly jolted up like he'd been struck with a fork of lightning. He let go of me and jumped off the bed and raced over to his biggest 'secret spot'; behind the cupboard. It's where he kept all the things he wanted to keep the safest, he'd told me on several occasions. He shuffled through everything and was completely obvious to his three spectators. When he found what he wanted he ran back over to me.

He placed a blue folder in my lap on top of my notepad. I tilted my head and tried my best to look clueless for him. I knew exactly what it was but it always Mickey laughed when I acted silly. Mickey managed a little giggle and pointed to the folder, "Silly Poppie! It's all my drawings! Remember? I want you to have them".

I smiled widely and ruffled up Mickey's hair as a 'thank you monkey' as I discreetly wiped the corner of my eye before Mickey saw anything.

He laughed loudly as if I was tickling him. Watari cleared his throat to grab our attention,"I'm sorry to hurry you along dear but I'm afraid we need to leave soon or we'll miss your grandmother's cooking"

A gentle lie. The man was certainly kind. I nodded and kissed Mickey's forehead then hugged him one last time. Dr Reese brought the wheelchair over to the side of the bed for me then helped me into it.

"Hey Mickey, If you want too you can wave goodbye from the reception area downstairs," The young doctor said with a happy ring to his voice and Mickey perked up instantly. I shot Dr Reese a smile to thank him. For a little while longer he'd be smiling.

"Yay! Only if I get to ride with Poppie in the wheelie chair!" I smiled at the small boy's demand and moved the folder and notepad off my lap for him to sit.

Mickey sat on my lap quietly and I wrapped my arms around him. Watari smiled at us and put his hat back on to offer to hold my things for me. I handed them over carefully and watched Watari put them under his arm. I kept my eyes locked on the folder for a while, hoping he'd understand the importance of it and he wouldn't damage them. It didn't take Watari long to put his other hand on the side of the folder and I nodded slightly.

I focused on Mickey as he started chatting about how I needed to watch his favourite cartoon every morning, and other odd but cute things. The energy was slowly coming back to his voice. Dr Reese pushed us to the main gate entrance of the hospital while Watari followed quietly.

We stopped rolling forward and Mickey slowly got off my lap. He turned and looked at me, pulling at his sleeves as he wasn't sure what to do. Never have I wanted to jump off a tower block more in my life. I took a deep breath and smiled, and I think Mickey noticed and tried to do the same.

Mickey tried to stay brave. He really did. All he did was say goodbye in a small quivering voice and he broke us both down into tears. I snapped him up in my arms and held his head to my shoulder so he couldn't see my tears. He, in turn, gripped handfuls of my shirt and wailed loudly against me. This isn't fair.

Dr Reese stepped in and kneeled down to take Mickey's hand. Mickey resisted but after a few tugs he let go of me completely and hugged Dr Reese side but he never stopped crying. The doctor gave me a sympathetic look and nodded to Watari to wheel me out now.

So he did. There was a car waiting for us at the front of the hospital. I couldn't see the type through my wavering vision. Watari wheeled me right up to the car and opened the door for me. I threw myself into the back seat while frantically wiping away my tears. I never wanted to feel this way again. It hurt! So much. All the paper in the notepad wouldn't be enough to describe it. I blinked away fresh tears and held my hands out for the folder. Watari passed it and the notepad to me and then closed the door.

He disappeared for a short while. I assume he was returning the wheelchair to the doctor and my little monkey. I opened the folder and looked at the first picture with a sad smile.

It was one that I and Mickey had done together in the first week of getting to know each other. I drew a monkey's head in a chibi form and Mickey drew a poppy as best he could.

I couldn't help but feel cold inside for leaving Mickey behind. My heart literally felt heavy. Maybe I was dying. It wasn't a logical guess but I think it was reasonable to think death hurt this much. Whatever this emotion was called, I wanted no part of it.

I pulled out the notepad and wrote jotted down my question, I had to know.

" _What is this feeling called!? It hurts so much. I feel like my heart is being ripped apart._

 _Please Watari, tell me!_ "

Watari opened the driver's door and he turned to look at me as he put on his seatbelt.

I held up my notepad for him to see and he smiled almost sadly with a big sigh. Even his voice trembled just a small bit before he levelled out, "Oh my dear… I'll try my best to explain. It's not as simple as one emotion. You're feeling a lot of things at once. Sadness. Guilt. Heartbreak. Loss."

I waited with a hard look for him to continue. I had to learn this and remember. Watari continued, "And they're all things that hurt on their own. You don't want to leave him here alone. And seeing that little lad upset could make anyone feel sad. But for the moment? You should remember that you can visit him whenever you like once you're settled in. And he's in a safe place. I'll see if I can make some arrangements to have him join you. But for now, just relax and let's get you to your new home. It's quite a drive so feel free to take a nap"

I nodded and leaned back into my seat. My body ached all over with a throbbing pain. I was acting tough for the sake of Mickey and I ignored it as best I could but I was really in agony. I gritted my teeth and tried to breathe through the pluses. Black blurs clouded my vision and I blinked several times to rid myself of them. My eyes felt progressively heavier and heavier until I was fighting to keep them open. If this man wasn't who he said he was then I may never see my little monkey again. This is the last thought as I drifted into blank dreamless sleep.

 **000000000000000000000**

 _First editing session is done! My eyes actually do feel really heavy now though. But, as it says in the original. I don't know where this story is going but I will lay out some ground rules. Yes, Kira will be in this. I'm not sure in what capacity as I'd like to stick as close as I can to the original, but I don't want certain people to die. ~ so, I'm not sure yet. I'm sure he'll still be everyone's favourite serial killer. But I'm going to say that, if he does join my little death note universe, it will be miles in the future. At my moment? We're starting from Wammy's house while L is being three of the world's greatest detectives. And, I'm going to start a new poll seeing as I'm tweaking the story as I edit. So, which pairing will win out?_

 _Also, I'm going to give a_ _ **really**_ _rough estimate of everyone's ages. Ready?_

 _A-24_

 _BB-23_

 _L-23_

 _Matt-18_

 _Mello-17_

 _Near- 17_

 _'_ _Poppy'- 18ish (will confirm her age when her birthday is ever confirmed)_

 _Thank you for reading the newly revised version, and please let me know what you thought of it with a review :) if I can make it better for you, I want to know._

 _-Alice_


	2. Alarmed and Motivated

_Another revised chapter~_

 _Thank you if you left a review, it really does mean a lot. Or, if you early bunnies hopped into the new poll and voted already. Your choice matters and will change the story as it progresses._

 _On with the Disclaimer I own nothing but "Poppy" and Mickey, and the plot so far._

 _So, without further delay. On with the story._

 _Chapter 2- Alarmed and Motivated_

 _Falling._

 _I was falling._

 _I could feel the air rush past me as I fell. I let out a scream and thrashed around trying to desperately catch onto something. I couldn't see the ground. Only the blue sunny sky. A building on my right but by the time I had noticed it, it was too blurry to get any details off its surface._

 _It wouldn't be long now until I hit the pavement. Would it hurt? Would I even notice the pain before I ceased to exist? Would everything just fade away? My memories… My dreams… My hope, fears and deepest loves… All, just gone?_

 _This isn't how I pictured my death. This isn't how I wanted to die. Please. Not like this. I didn't want to lose everything and be forgotten like this! I didn't want to be another statistic! Someone, help me!_

 _NO!_

 _#_ _ **BANG#**_

I jumped awake in a panic. A strangled cry caught in my throat as my senses informed me that my death wasn't imminent. It was only a nightmare.

However, a new worry slowly dawned on me. Much slower than I would've ever admitted. It was pitch black where ever I was. That is to say, I had no idea where I was.

I tried pushing my fear away and focusing on facts. What could I determine without moving and alerting anyone to my presence?

Different smells. Different room layout. Different textures. Same clothes.

I took a breath. My mind raced as my eyes were adjusting to the lack of light in this new place.

The hospital light was never off and I liked that. It was safe. When I woke up like this it made me feel better studying the same four walls. Stability was good. Safe. Predictable.

I ran my shaking fingers over my blanket but the paper-thin sheets weren't the ones to grace my clammy touch. This blanket was thick and so much softer.

I needed to focus. Wherever I was it smelt like good food and clean things. Not like the hospital; the clean smell there was sharp and stuck in the back of your throat.

I realised that I was curled forward awkwardly with my chest almost flat against my legs and this was straining my sides and back. I took a little breath and moved back to sit up straight. It then occurred to me that I had been holding my breath again. God knows how long for. I took long deep breaths into my burning lungs. My head was now spinning for my efforts and even in a dark room, it was sickening. I groaned and waited for it to stop.

So, I've come to the conclusion that trying to defy gravity isn't the best thing to do for one's health. Well. Not _exactly_ true; If you survive it's not the best thing for your health. I bit my tongue and decided there wasn't much I'd learn from just looking and feeling around. Now that I'm up, I might as well probe my memory and see what falls out of it. It's in bits and pieces, but I think they're at least in order…

Dr Reese came up looking chuffed with himself, more so than normal. I don't remember what he was saying. My chest went tight and cold as I remembered Mickey looking pained. He was crying. What happened? Maybe I should go apologise? I'm sure he'd forgive me if I snuck my little monkey some of his favourite purple swee-Wait. It's coming back to me.

That old guy... He pretended to be my grandfather and said he was taking me with him. We came to say goodbye to Mickey, and that's when I told him I'd come back to sneak him some sweets when I _visited_. Oh fuck. Right. I'm getting somewhere.

Well. Logically, the chance of me currently being in danger was around 30% based on variables I had yet to determine. I don't remember feeling distressed by the imposter taking me out from the hospital so he must have reassured me and not displayed any signs he wasn't being honest. And I remember getting into a car with the man after I saw Mickey crying, and I think he reassured me then too. The word 'kind' keeps floating forward in my mind when I thought of the man. That's good, right? I mean, I had no real evidence as to why I thought he was kind but for the moment I was content I wasn't in harm's way.

I racked my brain trying to put a name to his face but nothing definitive popped out. If I was safe under this man's care then surely he wouldn't mind me looking around for myself?

Time to explore.

I swung my legs over the side of the bed and heard a noise. I wasn't sure for a couple of seconds but then I realised the room, and the surrounding areas were silent. It was like someone shifting from foot to foot and their clothes ruffled. It wasn't too dissimilar to Dr Reese adjusting his coat. The chances of me being in danger just shot up to around 88%.

I stopped completely and I looked around with only my eyes. I didn't want to alert my intruder to my knowledge of them. My heart started to beat harder and quicker. _Fuck._ Anxiety isn't really known for striking at a good time but I could've done without it right now. My mind started to spiral out of my control.

Why would a stranger be stood in the dark of someone's room? To watch over me, or to wait until I was awake? For what purpose? They could have a weapon. I could be in real danger. My breathing spiked. What could I do? I can't call for help. Which only meant that I could either try and make a break for it, in a place my unwanted guest more than likely knew better than I did or I could try and fight them off.

Both had poor outcomes for me, seeing as I wasn't at peak physical health right now. And in the dark too? Man, What a way to wake up.

Trying to plan out the best course of action with a body that's stiff with pain and terror. Hell... Did I mention I was scared of the dark?

I pulled the duvet off my legs with some difficulty but in the end, I prevailed. I could see a window diagonally to the right of my bed. Now, the smarter thing would be to try and avoid being in the light too much because I could be pinpointed. However, the faint light coming in wasn't enough to illuminate the room but it was enough to reflect off some metallic and varnished surfaces.

The floor was carpeted. I got that far before I put my feet down onto its luxurious softness. I stood up as straight as I could to look as tall as I could for the watchful eyes of my intruder. The fine hairs on the back of my neck were prickling. That was enough proof of my baser instincts telling me I was being watched.

I shuffled straight over to the wall with the window and steadied myself with my hand. The support was welcomed but I played it a little overdramatic. Maybe whoever was here with me would fall for the added sympathy of my being wounded. Then again, there are two kinds of people in the world. Those that would rush to the aid of wounded creature and those that would rush in to torture it. I glanced at the wall as I shuffled forward and felt it's smoothness on my palm.

It was painted. It felt recent as it was just a hint tacky to the touch. Everything so far was new or at least, nicely put together for me. I was wanted by that older kind man. He'd gone out of his way to do this for me, and yet security wasn't high on his list? I was going to have metaphorical words with him if I made it out, of what I assumed was, my room.

I had almost made it to the window when the sound of footsteps moving hastily along the carpet to my left stopped me in my tracks. I braced myself and unfortunately closed my eyes. It was a natural response that I couldn't bypass. This wasn't likely to end well for me.

The footsteps stopped just in front of me and I felt a faint breeze hit my arm and move my hair into my face as the person ceased his dash. The chance of him being male was 92%. Except, he smelt very strongly of strawberries. But given his height, speed and the width of his gait, he was a he.

He leaned in and put a cold hand over my eyes, making me jump. He shushed me softly and cooed in my ear, in a broken almost crackling manner that was far more creepy than comforting. My heart was beating far too fast. I consciously held my breath this time to try and hear his movements.

His breath was my only indication of where he was as it pricked hotly on my skin. The warm light bursts of air moved from my ear, across my cheek and to my nose. He turned his head to either look away or put his ear next to my nose. I still held my breath. This made him chuckle quietly under his breath, a warped unforgiving laugh.

His other hand found its way to the side of my face. He twirled his fingers through my curls and for a second I didn't feel the difference. A slight pull and a soft inhale and then I realised what he had done. He was smelling my hair.

That slight moment and my anxiety transformed into aggression. I couldn't stand it anymore. I shot my hands forward with open palms in a purely defensive manoeuvre. I shoved him away violently. It ripped my hair from his fingers as he stumbled a few steps back. He grumbled and a sharp white exploded in front of my eyes. It stung and I didn't have a chance to re-orientate myself before the bright light was gone and the sound of a door opening and shutting followed quickly after.

I covered my eyes and tried to force the blurs of greens, pinks and blues away. That was a cheap, dirty trick. My creepy intruder had used a torch to stun me for an easy escape. It was clever, but that didn't mean it was fair.

It took a few minutes to get the dazzling flickers to stop clouding my vision. It took far longer for my heart to return to normal rhythm. I wasn't sure what to do next. I could stay here and try to make this room safe or carry out my exploring and try not to run into any more nut jobs. Decisions, decisions. I decided on the latter, against my better judgement.

I shuffled forward into the direction that the strawberry creep did with my arms out straight in front of me. The carpet was so new that he'd left a trail with the swiftness he had moved in. It was fairly easy at that point to feel with my feet the way to the door. My hands grazed the cold surface. I found the handle fast enough and held it pensively.

I opened the door slowly and peered around the corner. It was dim outside my room but not as dark as my room had been. There was a source of light coming from the left. I slid along the wall and quietly shut my door behind me.

My body was hot and it ached so much. It felt like with every breath my rib cage stopped expanding that little bit more. My legs were shaking with the effort to hold my weight but I decided to push forward. I turned so my shoulder was pushed into the wall and I willed myself forward. Towards the light. I could see a decline in the floor and the light was coming from beyond there.

That meant stairs. I bit my tongue and carried on. It felt like it took an eternity but I made it to the top of a curved grand staircase. I cringed. This was going to suck.

Holding the smooth varnished wooden bannister as tightly as I could I tried to haul myself one step at a time on awkward legs. I was sweating heavily now. My arms were shaking and my grip would occasionally falter and frighten the crap out of me. I looked down warily. I wasn't even halfway there.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and a voice in my ear that was soft and yet so cold, "Let me help you on your way".

Before I could turn to get a glimpse of who it was, They had shoved me. A shove so hard that for a moment, I flew. I brought my arms up to guard my face as the stairs thundered past at speed. When the world stopped hurtling around me in a sickening, painful blur, I had landed hard on my back at the bottom of the stairs with probably a loud noise because the next thing I noticed was the sound of footsteps.

I glanced up at the top of the stairs but no one was there. Something fluttered down the stairs after me, far more gracefully then I imagine I came down. It was a ribbon, the colour of dark green. It landed on my leg and it wasn't hard to grab it to conceal it from my supposed rescue. Then again, nothing has been right since I woke up. This could be the finishing party to bury me.

I watched two or three figures come running to my person. It was hard to see from my angle on the floor. I led there, waiting to see what was to become of me. Would these people help me, or continue the streak of the evening?

As they approached the pounding in my head was reaching new heights. When it started I assumed it was just the footsteps reverberating through my head. But now the figures loomed over me completely still, the pounding continued. Everything was starting to distort; The sounds, the lights... I tried to focus on the little blinking light on the ceiling. I found it comforting. Maybe it was a camera and it had caught my pusher? Knowing my luck it was probably just a security alarm for the door. My eyes watered and I let them close before they started to sting.

I felt myself get picked up by someone that smelled of smoke and I was weightless for a little while. Pain racked through me and I felt my body convulse before I let sleep take me once more.

…

I don't think I was asleep very long. I didn't dream. I always dreamt if I slept for longer than 5 hours. I opened my eyes a little and brought my hand up sluggishly to shield them. Everything was so bright now, almost blindingly so. I blinked a couple more times and when my eyes had adjusted, I looked down. I was laid on a couch with a thick blanket covering me. The room beyond that was homely. All warm colours.

After looking around as discreetly as I could manage, I tried to push myself up into a sitting position. Oh, how everything hurt. A little more then I remembered too. I certainly didn't miss that. I wished to feel weightless again… Wait... When was I weightless?...

"Hey! The hell do you think you're doing?! Don't move!" A loud, aggressive male voice snapped from behind me. I froze as commanded but my eyes searched around wildly. I spotted a couple of shadows to my right.

"Mello... I don't think yelling at her is a good idea.." A calmer more plain voice stated quietly then a few wooden clicking noises sounded.

"Should one of us go and get Roger? He's been gone for ages, and she's awake" a third voice chimed in.

The first voice, Mello, sighed loudly, clearly not happy. My memory shot back to me. Waking up in the dark and having someone there with me. Was he the one who was in my room earlier? To be fair, it could have been any of them but the aggression he had in him made him more suspicious to me. Bastard.

Adrenaline flared through my weak, bruised body. I felt my lip curl over my teeth in a silent snarl and snapped into motion. Throwing the blanket off of me as best I could, I stumbled to my feet and turned to face the people talking. My vision blurred and I blinked several times to return the focus to my poor sight.

In front of me not so far away was, from what I could see, a teenager in some white PJs with white fluffy hair pushing puzzle pieces easily into a frame on the floor. He paused his hand as he looked up at my sudden movement. He regarded me with curiosity. He had larger than average greyish black eyes and they were unfocused like he was in a daze. His face, while void of any emotion, looked soft and trusting. He didn't look at all threatening when he sat so curled up and small on the floor. I took a small step forward towards him and he did nothing but observe me.

"Hey! I said, Don't move!" Mello snarled out to the right of me and made me jump back. I blinked twice to process the words and turned my head to face the voice of Mello. It was coming from a man about my age who was leaning against the wall with a sneer on his face. From what I could see he had medium length blonde hair, I couldn't make out his eyes from this far away but I could feel him glaring me down. I returned the favour and stood tall to say I wasn't going to be intimidated by the likes of him.

Another man stood beside Mello. He had styled red hair and was wearing blue pyjama bottoms with a striped shirt. He waved a little before dropping his hand. He probably noticed I wasn't in the waving mood. Well… Since no one was coming at me in a threatening way I stole the chance to have a look around me. I blinked and strained my eyes to make out the details of the room. That's when the man on the floor piped up again, "You know, rather than hurt your retinas more, you could use the glasses on the table that were left for you."

I threw the guy an annoyed look but I'd let my pride take a hit if it meant being able to see. I turned around and sure enough, there was a heavy antique looking table with a brown glasses case resting on the corner. I snatched them up and opened it up to find a pair of thick, black square glasses inside. Not bad, but then again I wasn't sure where my hate for glasses came from. I put them on, careful not to touch the glass with my fingertips. I looked around eagerly with curiosity. Everything was so clear now.

I took in everything, every tiny piece of information like the room was a book and this was the best chapter. I smiled and in my delighted state almost fell over from leaning too far back to look at the pattern on the ceiling. Everything looked so beautiful. A warm voice pulled me back to my senses as I had lost my focus, "What's that in your hand? Is it a tie for your hair? Is that why you fell?"

I looked at the man with red hair with confusion before looking down at my hand. I hadn't realised my hand was balled up in a fist. I brought my hand up to my chest and saw a flash of dark green. I released the tension in my fingers and saw a crumpled ribbon. And the fall down the stairs came back to me. I had been pushed, and whoever pushed me had either dropped it by accident or left it for me as a token to remember the event.

Alright. This place is nuts. I was sure my legs would have given out by now If I wasn't quite full of adrenaline. I made a rash decision based on nothing more than assumptions and here I was getting thrown down stairs and creepy… I don't even know what to call that bullshit. Just flat out creepy. I decided to hold myself together and get some answers. Nothing would be accomplished if I broke down now. That could wait until later.

The three people in front of me. I had one name and a really rough judgement for each. I'd have to get to know them better than this to assess them at a much more accurate level. But I'll take what I'm given.

The guy on the floor seemed no threat. He seemed like the type to only act to solve things but I could only judge that from his demeanour and his puzzle skills. The redhead by the door seemed friendly enough. Inquisitive and a little awkward maybe, but still not a threat. Mello on the other hand. He had an aggression about him that gave him a threat level. However, seeing as he had only yelled at me when I did something to in danger my health, I was willing to give him a small threat level.

I felt everyone's eyes on me as I moved my head around in search of something. I wanted to see the kind old man who picked me up but without a pen and some paper, I was at a loss. That's when I spotted a set of photos in nice frames on a shelf over a very pretty old fireplace. There was a photo of everyone in this room, and some others I didn't recognise but the one that stood out to me was a photo of a young boy with black hair standing beside the man I was questing to see. He looked younger in the photo then I remembered him to be, but I was sure it was the same person.

I walked over to it quickly and picked it up. I turned around and pointed to the man in the photo. It was quiet for a moment before the guy on the floor spoke, "That's Watari. If you wish to see him because I'm afraid at this moment of time he is tending to other matters. But he should be back shortly." A pause. "Is there anything we could assist you with?"

I sighed heavily and put the photo back on the shelf exactly where I had found it. I bit my lip and wondered for a moment what the best course of action could be. I used my hands to mime out the action for writing and the man with red hair nodded with a smile and left. Mello made a noise of annoyance before talking, "I don't get it. If you want something you should just come out and say what you want."

I shot him a glare and put a hand on my throat. I opened my mouth and moved my mouth like I was trying to talk. I made it a little more dramatic by miming the action of screaming and yet not a sound came from me. I think they got the point. I crossed my arms and shut my mouth. Mello glared back before he dropped his eyes and muttered something about this being a waste of his time. He stayed in the doorway though. I huffed and decided to give my shaky legs a break by sitting cross-legged on the couch.

I felt calm sat like this. At peace. It made thinking easier, and if I sat like it long enough it made my legs go dead so they didn't hurt so much.

It wasn't long before the man came back with a stack of lined paper and a pen. He gave them to me with a nice smile before backing off and taking a seat on the floor. He sat with his legs crossed too. I nodded a thank you and wrote down my question neatly and a little bigger than I normally would so they could see it.

" _What are your names?"_

I held the paper up and to my surprise, Mello came out of the doorway to read it. He stood leaning on the wall next to the fireplace. The man with red hair smiled warmly and raised a hand. "Sorry. That was rude of us. I'll tell you. My name is Matt. The guy behind me is Mello and the one doing the jigsaw puzzle is Near. What's your name?"

I paused for a moment before showing my answer, " _I don't have one."_

Mello scoffed, "Yeah right. We all know the drill. Tell us your alias."

I looked back at him taken aback. Aliases? To be fair, I think the only normal name I recognised there would be been Matt so it wasn't a total shock to learn they weren't real names. But still, what kind of a place is this where you needed an alias in your day to day life?

Near spoke up and he sounded a little bored, "She's only just woken up since arriving here yesterday Mello. I believe we're the first people that she's spoken to so she doesn't know about any of the rules here."

Mello's lip curled back and he looked mad for a split second. He spat out, "Fine. You tell her then. I have more important things to do with my time". He promptly strode out of the room and the sound of him running the stairs faded away as he got farther away. Matt sighed.

"Sorry about Mello. He can be a little emotional sometimes but he's a nice guy overall. He's just a little sensitive when it comes to the whole successor thing" Matt explained, but my confused look made him stop. He looked thoughtful.

Near didn't miss a beat, however, "There's a lot to explain so let's do it correctly. You're at Wammy's orphanage for the gifted. The purpose of this place is to train bright and talented children to become a successor to the child in the photograph you picked up. His name is L. That is his alias, as mine is Near. You will either chose an alias for yourself or one will be given to you."

He wasn't kidding. He paused and waited for confirmation that I understood. I nodded after a moment's thought and started taking notes. Just in case my memory failed me later. He waited until I had stopped to continue explaining.

"L is currently the best detective on earth. If anything were to happen to him it would fall to one of us to take over for him. Now, this is all in pursuit of justice and righting the wrongs of the world. However, Mello thinks of this as a competition that he must beat me for. He believes the better person will win, and I can't stay I disagree". Near smiled a little at the end but with no malice. He looked as though he was enjoying the competition.

I nodded and used a new page to jot down a question,

" _Thank you for explaining. I understand, more or less. But I still have some questions. Would either of you be up to answering them for me?"_

Near said nothing but kept his eyes on me. I hadn't noticed but while he was talking he'd finished the puzzle. It was a pure white bar a pretty black letter in the bottom minutes corner. Huh.

Matt nodded and leaned forward to try and see my question before I held it up.

" _How many people are there here?"_

Matt answered, "People like us, you mean? There's 7 of us including yourself at the moment. Some of us choose to go just by single letters rather than a full alias. Each of us has a picture on the shelf over there. You'll get one too when you'd passed the exam. Other than us? There's Watari and Roger who care for us. Not many other people are constantly present. We're basically a closely guarded secret."

" _What are the names of the other people like us?"_

"Oh. Alright, so" Matt stood up and stood in front of the fireplace. He pointed at each picture as he talked, "You've met me, Near and Mello and you know what L looks like. He'll probably come to visit soon now we have someone new. This is A. He has a full alias that I don't know, but he prefers just A. And there's BB. That's his full and only alias. And he had a picture up here but he seems to have taken it down again."

I took notes on each name or letter as Matt explained and jotted down a quick trait from the pictures to put next to the names. Someone cleared their throat and we all stopped to look. It was Watari.

"I see you're awake then Miss. I hope everyone has been treating you well in my absence. If you'll excuse us, Matt, Near? I believe our new member must be hungry by now and I'd like to talk to her. Thank you" Watari said with a polite voice.

Near picked up his jigsaw and glanced at me, "It was a pleasure to meet you." He then walked out the door and I assumed when to his room. He was a lot bigger when he stood up. He was probably the same age if not older than me, but his face makes him look younger. Matt groaned and held his hand out to me.

I shook it as he spoke, noting his hand was warm and soft. "Awh. I'd have liked to talk with you more but Watari's right. You should eat something and settle it. The first night is always a little rough. We can talk later if you like? I'm always in the other lounge so, feel free to come and chat!" He smiled warmly at the end before he left too and then it was just me and Watari.

He placed a tray on the old table that I had gotten my glasses from and then moved the table back to its proper place in front of the couch I was sat on. On the tray were two very posh teacups, a kettle, a little pot full of milk, a bowl of sugar cubes and a plain black phone.

He poured the tea and gestured to the sugar and milk as to say 'help yourself'. He watched me as I did so. I had two sugars and a little bit of milk. I liked my tea sweet and tasteful. He remained standing and I wasn't sure why until he spoke, "I'm sorry Miss. I wasn't sure what food to bring you as I've been too busy to look through your notes. I hope you don't mind. Are you hungry for anything in particular? Sweet or savoury, it's okay."

I blinked. Oh. Uh… Well. Now that he asked I was craving something sweet. Maybe from cut up fruit and cream? That was the first food I enjoyed at the hospital at least. But that wasn't going to fill the hole in my stomach. I jotted down my answer and gave the paper to Watari,

" _Cut up fruit with some cream, please. But no Kiwi. And maybe something savoury too if that's okay? I'm quite hungry"_

Watari smiled, "That's fine, I'll be back in a moment with some food"

He left and I couldn't help but feel bad. I didn't mean _he_ had to go make me food. Maybe they had a cook. I sighed. Now that things were calmer I just took a minute and relaxed. Now I remembered getting pushed down the stairs my body was hurting. The ache that drumming through me, taking my focus, strength and patience from me. I sighed and let my head fall back against the couch.

Everyone here was so different then what I was used too. Normal people were easy enough to get along with, with a little bit of thought on my part. But, each of them had their own quirks and such strong personalities. At least, I could somewhat understand the push down the stairs. I was a threat to whoever had pushed me. This didn't mean I forgave them by any means, or that I didn't want to do the same back. But I could see it from their point of view.

I pushed all thoughts out of my mind to give myself a moment of peace. I relaxed and let my eyes close for what felt like just a second before the phone vibrated hard against the tray, making the whole thing rattle. I looked at it. What should I do? I didn't know where Watari had gone. I couldn't call out to anyone. So, I picked it up and pressed accept without thinking.

A smooth, pleasing voice started talking in my ear, "Watari. I need you to notify the detective in charge of the Red case that I have worked up a theory that he may want to know before he makes the arrest in the morning."

I blinked. Silence fell as I waited for the man to continue talking or hang up. I checked the phone and it said 'unknown' rather than a name. I huffed and before I could put the phone down the voice spoke again in a less relaxed voice, "You are not Watari. State your name"

I bit my lip and hung my head. I could not, and I would not do as he asked. He hummed in thought. He spoke softly this time, more curious than anything, "Look up at the top left corner of the room"

I tensed up. Oh crap. I was sure I was going to get in trouble for this. I turned my head and looked, and sure enough, there was a camera mounted to the top corner of the room locked on to me and blinking a little red light. Little red light?... Why did that ring a bell…

"You're the new girl staying at Wammy's house, correct?" the voice asked. I gave a little nod and he carried on talking, "Right. And I don't have registered name for you yet so you must just have woken up. Please don't look so nervous, It's alright. You're safe here."

I cast my eyes down to the bottom of the fireplace. Easy for you to say, you aren't here in this madhouse.

The voice muttered into my ear, he sounded deep in thought "And if you're wondering, Yes. I caught the incident earlier that ended with you falling down the stairs. I'll find out who pushed you. Now. Keep the phone call going but hide the phone under the blanket next to you. You have a guest coming."

I let out a small gasp at the news. My heart soared with joy. Someone _had_ seen what happened earlier. Oh, payback was going to be a bitch. I smiled at the camera and hide the phone as told. I picked up my teacup and sipped the warm tea. It was nice.

I turned when someone knocked on the door frame. It was Mello. I put my cup down and picked up my pen and the stack of papers, ready to write. He took that as an invitation to come over and sit in Watari single seat next to my couch.

He didn't say anything for a while. He just looked at me and seemed to study me. When he was ready he looked away with a huff and started talking, "Hi. Matt said I should come to talk to you and apologise. I felt bad anyway. So look. I'm sorry, if, you know, I sounded mad earlier. Or, if I frightened you. Near just gets to me. I didn't know you didn't know the rules yet."

… Was he apologising? Oh. Well. Alright then. I thought about my answer before I made a move. I didn't want to write anything and make him 'mad' again. Mad was loud and aggressive, and my poor head didn't want to hear it again. I waved to catch his attention and wrote down my answer,

" _It's okay. I was just surprised by how loud you were earlier but you didn't frighten me. You only yelled when I moved around because you didn't want me to hurt myself right?"_

Mello read my writing with his intense blue eyes before a little bit of pink found its way to his cheeks. He rubbed the back of his head and looked at the table rather than me.

He spoke with a little bit of shyness to his voice that painted him in a different light to me, "Yeah… We found you earlier at the bottom of the stairs and we weren't sure how far you'd fallen. If you'd sprained or broken anything. Uh… and, I'm sorry for being rude earlier too. About your voice. I didn't know that you couldn't speak"

I started writing and I stole a glance between sentences. Mello had his head pointing towards the fireplace but he was watching me write. I showed him my answer after drawing a little smiley face after it,

" _Then I owe you my thanks. You were right. You were only trying to help me and I'm sorry I didn't listen. I was a little scared, waking up in a place I didn't recognise. And hey, about my voice? Don't worry about it. You couldn't have known. :)"_

Mello read my answer and he looked troubled for a moment before a small smile tugged on his lips. I obviously wrote something he liked. He leaned back in his chair a little more relaxed and nodded, "I can see how that would've been scary for you. You don't have to apologise though. You didn't do anything wrong." He sighed, "The first night I spent here I broke a window and a door. I was trying to leave. I didn't want to be a part of this stupid game"

I nodded and just listened as he spoke. He sounded lonely. Maybe his outbursts of emotions were just a way to hide how he feels? When he was worried for my health, he yelled. When Near spoke to him earlier he got loud and stormed off. Hmm. He was an interesting cookie.

I could hear footsteps coming and Mello must've heard them too. He stood quickly and slipped something from his pocket and put it under my stack of papers. He mumbled, "that's to say sorry. See you around" before darting off out of the door at the other end of the room.

I put my stack of paper on the arm of the couch to see and on my leg was a bar of chocolate. I smiled. That was a kind thing to do, even if someone else had told him to apologise. He hadn't needed too. I put the chocolate under the stack of paper and pulled the phone out from under the blanket as Watari put a bowl and a dish down for me.

I wrote, " _I'm sorry for answering your phone. It rang while you were away."_

Watari read my words and took the phone from me. He didn't look mad, more surprised really. He listened and hummed in agreement. He held the phone back out to me and smiled, "L would like to speak to you."

I blinked and put the phone to my ear. I looked at the camera while listening. Was this voice L? The guy everyone was aiming to succeed? World famous detective. Oh. Probably shouldn't write anything out of term then.

L sounded amused and he spoke with a nice flow to his voice, "I'm impressed. Mello doesn't often apologise with such meaning. Or give out his chocolate to just anyone. You seem to have a way with people that could be of use to me. First, though, you need to pass the test that Watari mentioned to you yesterday. Do you think you're up to the task? If you're not, I understand. This isn't a timed test, so you could look over it now and answer when you're ready"

I bit my lip and nodded when I had thought it over.

L continued, "I must ask that while you're looking through the files, you do not speak to the other members of Wammy's. They have already taken the test and therefore, know the outcome. I want your unbiased answer. You can take as long as you like, hours, days, however long it takes you to come up with an answer. But once you've looked at the files, even briefly, you are under a temporary ban of communication. Is this acceptable to you?"

I nodded instantly. Determined to do it by myself. I had never struggled with puzzles, tests or games during my psychological evaluation. This should be easy.

L spoke one last time in my ear, "Good. I'll have Watari set up a computer for you so you can communicate with me and take your test. I hope you pass as I look forward to having your assistance in the future. Now, if you could pass me back to Watari I would be grateful."

I passed the phone back and picked up the bowl of fruit and cream. It looked so perfect and my stomach was growling at me. I eat eagerly while Watari spoke to L. Maybe this place wasn't so bad. Just had to watch out for the nutjob who was in my room earlier. I stabbed at half a strawberry in remembrance of the smell. My only clue.

I finished the fruit quickly enough and felt like a new life had been breathed into me. I looked at the plate and found a whole bunch of finger food in a beautiful display. A big sausage roll in the centre. Mini sausages on sticks, mini quiches, pots of sauces that were all different colours, carrot sticks and breadsticks. It looks too good to destroy by eating it but I was too hungry to leave it.

Watari finished the phone call as I was munching away on the sausage roll. He smiled when he saw me eating, "I'll go get your room set up for you while you finish eating. If you're done before I get back, press the number 3 on the phone and I'll come back to get you. I shouldn't be long though."

I nodded and carried on happily eating. Whoever the cook was, deserved something. I wasn't sure what, but definitely something. When I had finished, I gathered my things together and waited for Watari to come back. It didn't take it long like he'd said. I was stuffed but the idea of leaving food made my heart sink. I had written the possibility of me saving the food for later and I showed him when he returned. He chuckled and said that that was fine.

He'd brought me a walking stick to help me walk and I found it awkward at first but got the swing of it. Watari carried my stuff for me. We made it back to my room and now the light was on I could appreciate how pretty everything was.

My bed had been made for me again. The covers had a slight tint of purple to them. The walls were a strong darker purple and the fluffy carpet was a purple somewhere in the middle. The curtains hanging closed over my window were the same colour as the carpet.

All the furniture matched the purple of my sheets with the knobs and handles of them being the darker purple. It was perfectly matched everywhere.

I had wardrobe fitted into the wall that opened with a sliding door that was a mirror on the outside. A bedside cabinet next to my bed with a lamp on it. A chest of drawers and a desk. It was a really really nice room.

I smiled brightly as I took it all in. Watari caught my attention as he wheeled over a dark purple laptop on a table supported by an upside L bracket. He put it the other side of my bed to the bedside cabinet. "I hope you like the room. It's a little plain at the moment but you can add whatever you want to it. And feel free to change anything you want to." Watari mentioned as he looked around.

Were we looking at the same room? I shook my head as I shuffled over to my bed to take a seat. I wrote down,

" _I think it's beautiful the way it is. Thank you for doing this for me!"_

Watari smiled, "I'm glad you like it. I'll take you clothes shopping at some point when you're feeling better and you can pick out some more things if you wish to add to your room. This is the laptop L was talking about. It's yours now and I believe the test is already on it."

I sat back against the headboard with my legs out straight as Watari moved the table around so the laptop was resting just over my lap. That, was a cool table. Watari explained, "When you want to go to sleep just push the table out to left, like this and it'll be out of your way." He demonstrated the turning table head and then nodded. "I'll leave you to it. It's almost midnight so you could try and get some sleep. Maybe you could think of what name you'd like us to call you by? I feel terribly rude just calling you Miss." Watari yawned when he was finished talking.

" _Please don't feel rude doing so but I understand. I'll try and think of a name for myself by tomorrow morning. Goodnight Watari. Thank you for bringing me here. Get some sleep, you deserve it."_

He chuckled a genuinely sweet sound and nodded. He turned my lamp on for me before he turned my light off, wished me a goodnight and shut my door. He was such a kind man. It warmed my heart. He didn't know me. He didn't have a reason to go to this length for me.

I got under my blanket and opened the laptop. It greeted me with a simple 'Welcome User' before it booted to a plain white background with only two things on the desktop. One was a speech bubble and the other had a lock as its icon. I bit my lip. Did I want to start the test now?

Maybe I should wait. But. Curiosity got the better of me. I went to move the mouse of the lock and something flashed on the taskbar. I clicked it open and a message flashed up,

 **-It's L. Before you start your test I would like you to pick a name. And I'd like to ask you a question**.

I typed back,

- _Okay. I'm not sure on a name yet. I was hoping to pick one before tomorrow morning. I just don't want to pick one that means nothing. And ask away._

Only a couple of seconds pasts.

- **Alright. If you check your desktop you will see a link to a page that has a list of names with their meanings attached. Pick your favourite letter and work your way down the list. A, B, L, M and N are already taken, so that should narrow it down for you.**

Holy shit. That was fast. L must have a ridiculously fast typing speed. To be fair, he was the best detective. I highly doubt he typed with his two index fingers on their own.

- **My question is this:**

 **If you don't mind seeing somethings that are graphic, Would you mind taking a look at a case I'm working on? I'd like to know your opinion and thoughts.**

Well. This was going to be interesting. I typed my answer out carefully before hitting send.

 _*breathes*_

 _Yay! Another chapter is done. I ended up rewriting more than I planned to but I think it works nicely. Thank you to LisforLovely for reviewing :) it means a lot._

 _I've just downloaded Grammarly, the spelling app so that should fix all my mistakes. But I am still only writing during the dead of night and this is just completed. So, If you spot something that's off, feel free to message me and I'll fix it :)_

 _Side note: I don't think the app tells me if I get a word slightly wrong tough. (Like "breath" and "breathe" you can't breath really hard xD) or if I miss words out entirely. So if something catches your eye and ruins the flow, let me know._

 _The poll is still open and reviews are welcomed! Hope you liked this chapter of New Girl._

 _Alice signing off at 7:42 am_


	3. Not Overly Taken

_Another revised chapter up. I just finished the 2nd one so I figured I'd start this one. She's met Mello, seen Near and she's spoken with L, who will she meet in this chapter?_

 _Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note. I only own Poppy, Mickey and the plot :3 and again, if you feel depressed it's easier than you think to reach out and get help. And I'm not promoting self-harm but it will be a theme in this story. As well as depression, suicide and God knows what. 18+ advised._

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Chapter 3- Not Overly Taken

- _I don't mind taking a look. Hopefully, I'll be of assistance to you._

I felt a little shake in my fingers as I waited for an answer. The greatest detective on earth, wanted my opinion in a case? Well. This was obviously a test. I had to be very careful with my answers or he'd think the wrong thing.

Another bubble popped up from L with a file attached underneath,

- **Here's everything. I've made three folders of different colours for you. Red, Yellow and Blue. Those are the names we'll use for the suspects. I would like you to put pieces of evidence into the folders that incriminate that suspect.**

 **When you're done. Message me again and inform me who you believe beyond a reasonable doubt committed this crime. Don't forget to pick a name too.**

I typed back a simple 'Okay' and opened the file. There wasn't much evidence. There were four witness statements. Some photos and two reports from police about what had happened. A woman had been murdered in her home. Red was her husband, Yellow was her son and Blue was her best friend.

I paused after learning this. What a crappy way to die. Someone you loved and trusted, murdering you. I shook off my empathy for the moment and poured over everything.

After reading everything three times over, and moving pieces into the right folders I was at a somewhat loss. There were only four pieces of evidence in each folder. There was no swing to the case either way. I frowned. I opened the website up of names and figured while I was stumped by the puzzle I could choose my name.

The alphabet greeted me. I looked at each letter and thought about which one I liked the most. I had a look at the name Mickey had given me. Poppy was a Latin name that was quite popular. It didn't have a meaning because it was the name of a flower. I huffed. I wanted one with meaning that would define me.

The letters A and B were taken so I thought C was the best place to start. I wrote down the names with good meanings that stood out and that I liked on the paper. When I had was finished I looked over the names and one stood out to me. It sounded pretty and its meaning was nice too.

So. Back to the case. One piece of evidence was bothering me. One of the police reports indicated that the son or husband was more guilty than the friend but then quickly flicked back to being unbiased. It bugged me. Why give your personal opinion in something that didn't concern you?

I checked the best friends description again. She was a normal office worker. No kids. No husband. She wrote in her witness statement that she had known the victim since they were young. Hmm.

I closed my eyes and held my breath. I tried to put myself in the friends' shoes. Something I could do with ease. She had nothing that the victim had. She'd been by her side for years, watching her friend get everything… that she possibly wanted? Maybe she was jealous of her friend? Maybe that was enough to kill her. But why had the police officer tried to cover for her? They had different surnames. Maybe they were dating.

I paused. Maybe the police officer wasn't covering for the women at all. He'd highlighted her to get someone's attention, L's attention. But it seemed too random. Too forced. It wasn't right. I looked at the report again. At no point does it mention what the Son was up too. I checked the report on the officer. He was only two years older than the son. Maybe he knew him?

I wrote to L,

- _I picked my name. I would like to be called Clara. And, I believe the Son is the murderer. What were your thoughts? Who did you decide was guilty?_

Seconds later,

- **Hello Clara. It's a nice name. It means bright and clear, correct? Like a diamond… It suits you. And you believe the son killed his mother. Tell me why.**

I typed back,

- _The second police report was suspicious. It highlighted Blue as guilty and he mentioned Red as well but he didn't mention Yellow at all. He's just a little bit older than the son so I assumed they were friends and that he was covering for him by writing nothing in his report. The son has a drinking problem and he had previously shown violent tendencies._

I paused for a moment and considered sending another message about Blue, the best friend. But I wasn't sure. While I was wondering a message popped up from L,

- **I see. I'll let you know in the morning if you're correct or not. And I'll let Watari of your name choice. Thank you, Clara, or would you prefer C?**

I moved my lip around a little and decided either was fine. I let L know that either was okay, I didn't mind. L messaged back and said I should go to sleep but I wasn't very tired. I noticed the test on the desktop had disappeared too. The opinion I had just given must've been the test. Shit. Maybe I should've put more thought into it. I went with a flimsy answer. The friend was more likely to be guilty of murder by jealous rage, not a loving son. I huffed.

I shut the laptop and decided to go get a drink. It was now very late at night or, early. Last time I checked the clock on the laptop it was nearing 3 am.

I sat still from my perch on the edge of my bed and listened for anything. I couldn't hear a sound beyond my breathing but the fear of being caught out of bed forced me to stay where I was for at least 10 minutes. When I was sure no one was around, I slowly got out of bed and used the support of the walking stick to walk to the door. I quietly opened and shut the door behind me and stopped, stood rigidly in the hallway. A thought occurred to me as I focused in on the red blinking light in the top corner of the hallway.

Would L see me out of bed at this hour? Oh hell. I'm not sure he would mind... He had _suggested_ I go to sleep, but that's all it had been, right? A suggestion. Unless he could see everything and he was aware of a danger. The memory of whoever was in my room flashed through my head. No. If he knew it wasn't safe he'd have _told_ me to go to sleep, or at least to stay in my room. Maybe he'd let me wander around as long as I stayed safe?

Maybe I was overthinking this.

I gripped the handle of the cane and tried very hard to ignore the amount of effort it took to walk. It was slow and painful, but it was worth it to have a look around without anyone to watch me or baby me. I really didn't like it when people babied me.

Going down the stairs was a bit awkward but I managed it in less than 5 minutes so I counted that as a success. And I wasn't pushed this time. Bonus. It was dark downstairs. I could roughly see the vague shapes and outlines of things thanks to the street lights pouring in through the windows. I bit my lip. I didn't want to walk into anything that could draw attention to myself.

I shuffled slowly down the corridor towards what could be the front door and found the living room I was in earlier. I'd been in there already so there was no need to see it again. I turned on my heel and walked across the corridor to another doorway. I held my breath and pushed the door open...

It was completely dark in this room, The street light wasn't lighting anything up for my blurry sight. This room smelt good. Like hot food. I felt around the wall either side of the door until I found a light switch on the left. It was a very posh looking kitchen. It was very clean and plain but in a stylish way. There was a washing machine, a drier, a dishwasher and some cupboards arranged in an L shape from this door across to the door diagonal to me.

There were 5 cupboards attached to both walls above the other ones. All the machines and cupboards at waist level were covered by what looked like a layer of marble. There was a sink cut into the marble with the teacups from earlier in. Curiosity got the better of me and I checked the cupboards for a cup or glass, my throat felt scratchy and I was in need of some water.

I found the cupboard that had the cups in it but it was oddly arranged. There were lines of black tape around the cups in a grid shape and a label in front of each little box made of tape. Mello had two cups in his square, one black plain mug and pint glass. Near had one white plain cup. Matt had a bunch of cups, more than anyone else by miles. All different shades of green. There were other labels too, 'A' and 'BB'. L had a square too but his square was empty of any cups. There was an empty square with a blank label and I felt a smile pull against my lips. They'd made me a square to put my cups.

Although it begs the question, who would feel that possessive about a cup they'd need to mark it as off limits?

Maybe, Mello, I could picture that. If someone broke something of his I doubt he'd respond in a friendly way. I rested the cane against the side and leaned into the cold marble to walk around to the sink. I picked up the teacup from earlier and gave it a quick wash. The first cup I used here... I think that deserves to be in my little tape square. I moved back to my cane and put my little teacup in the middle of the square.

I borrowed BB's cup. I hoped he or she wouldn't mind, but it was the closest cup to my hand and my shoulders were starting to ache from using my cane. I filled the cup with water slowly to make sure the water didn't run too loudly.

I downed all the water in one go and the relief it brought my throat was beautiful. I filled the cup again and this time didn't drink from it. I grabbed my cane and decided to keep exploring.

The door at the other end of the kitchen led to what looked like a game's room. The light was already on in here. There were games all over the place but in neat piles so none of them mixed. At the back of the room, there were sliding glass panels that led outside.

I could see my reflection clearly in the glass. My face was still blue and green in some places. Almost healed. They weren't from the whole roof incident, but from me stubbornly trying to walk the day after in hospital and falling on my face. Bruises from pride. My arms were bruised all over in patches but they were worse on the back. I saw my back in a full-length mirror when I was still in the hospital and it's just covered in one giant dark bruise. The back of my legs was the same. Apparently, that's how I had landed.

My waist length golden hair was a mess of curls but it looked good anyway. It took a moment, but I realized I was still in the clothes I left the hospital in. They weren't the clothes I was admitted in. Those had been destroyed because they were all bloody. That had pissed me off. The staff had assumed I had jumped, so no police case was ever opened. And my only evidence of who I was before waking up in a hospital bed was gone.

So, a nice nurse had given me a pair of her own spare clothes as I hated the hospital's paper pyjamas. She'd given me a black t-shirt that fit perfectly and a pair of matching black jogging bottoms that were warm and held onto my ankles.

I was looking at my reflection for so long, I zoned out on everything else. I blinked back my focus when I thought I saw a flash of white outside. The key was in the lock of the glass panel so I flicked it open and looked out into the darkness.

The streetlight showed a high wall to the right and sliver of a basketball court right outside the game's room. I couldn't see anyone. It was far too dark in the shadows to make out anything. I couldn't see anything that could've give off a flash of light either. I took a step outside and taped my walking stick on the floor to attract whoever might be hiding outside. My own way of calling out, "Hello? Anyone there?" without using my voice at all.

There was no sound out here. No cars, no wind, no footsteps. I hummed quietly. I liked humming, it was my way of staying calm. But I'd never let anyone hear my voice. I think I used to like singing before the accident, my voice box felt restless sometimes. Like it was itching to sing, shout or argue. I think I'd be great at arguing.

While I was thinking about my voice, I had absentmindedly walked into the shadowy part of the basketball court.

A rock skimmed out of dark from the other end of the court towards the wall behind me so loudly and violently it made me jump. I dropped the cup and it shattered so explosively the sound kept ringing in my ears. My heart was beating so quick in my chest I thought it to might explode. Someone was out here. I peered into the dark for movement, sound, anything. But all was still again like nothing had happened at all. The cold water on my feet, however, was a clear reminder I wasn't alone.

I wanted Watari. I wanted L. Matt. Mello or Near. I didn't care. I just wanted someone to help me. I tried to reason with my anxiety as it flared up and washed over my mind. It won every time I tried to put a reasonable argument forward. It always came back to: I'm going to die.

I felt myself trembling. There was another flash of white and loud quick footsteps, coming right towards me.

I span around and tried to bolt back inside and to safety. My legs were like jelly, they wouldn't move fast enough and suddenly I couldn't move at all.

It took a second to register that I was still. I was so close to being out of the shadows and back into the safety of the house. There was an arm over my throat and it was pulled in tight, almost tight enough to deny me air. Almost. I had let my cane fall to the floor and put both my hands under my chin and on the arm. My fingers and nails dug into his skin but in doing so allowed me a little more room to breathe.

My heart was hammering in my chest as I tried to struggle free. That was quickly dashed when the man holding me still put more pressure on my neck. I could feel my back pressing into someone's body. They were cold. I stole quick and shallow breaths as often as I could. My eyes closed on their own as a thought kept repeating itself in my mind….

…I was going to die, I was going to die…

I started to tremble a little harder and I squeezed my eyes shut tightly before forcing them open. If I could stay calm, maybe I could find a way out of this. I could have a panic attack later, not right now. Breathe.

His other arm had wrapped itself around my stomach to keep me close to him. For control. He let out a little sound in my ear, like a tut or a click, when he leaned in and that's when the smell of strawberries caught my attention. _Oh, Fuck._

"This was my favourite cup... It had been a gift. Hmm... And you... You broke it..." the scariest, calmest and possibly the most creepy voice I have ever heard, whispered into my ear. I gritted my teeth and nodded. I had broken his cup. He had broken into my room. I'd say I still had _more than enough_ wriggle room to break his nose.

I leaned my head forward as much as I could with his arm under my chin and threw my head back. To my surprise, I didn't catch his nose. I think my head caught something less boney like a cheek. I think he knew what I was going to do so he moved. He hissed and for just a moment his grip was relaxed. That was enough for me.

I shot an elbow back into the guy's ribs and when that landed nicely into hard bone, I moved forward. I ran forward. But my balance sucked. BB caught my wrist and pulled me to a quick stop. I fell onto my face and before I could crawl away or get back up, a hand was tightly in my hair, keeping me still. My hands shot up to grab at his wrist to try and pull his hand away but he was too strong.

The hand pulled my head up and I had no choice but to stand up straight while on my knees. He pulled my hair back further to tip my head back. I winced. I couldn't help it. A sound escaped my busted lips and he stopped pulling my hair.

BB crouched down to be on the same level as me, "So you can speak huh?... Well, that's a turn out for the books. I want you to speak for me, girl. Speak!" He yelled the last word in my ear and made me flinch but I shook my head.

A hand ever so gently brushed the loose strands of hair out of my face so I could see. I closed my eyes. I didn't want to see him. I already had his name. This behaviour screamed at me that he wanted to see my eyes, he wanted to see them sparkle as he hurt me and I was not going to let him.

He growled and that's when he pressed a long, cold blade against my throat.

I squirmed around before I willed myself still. Self-preservation was a hard thing to overpower but I managed to calm myself. I was shaking hard now, almost like I was vibrating. The gravel was cutting my knees and the way he was pulling my hair hurt my head and my neck.

"I want you to say my name… And then, I want you to tell me your name. Okay?... Do this for me, and I won't slice your pretty little throat." He spoke calmly.  
 _Shit._

I opened my eyes and looked up at my attacker. I let out an involuntary gasp. The man crouched in front of me, almost pulling my hair out of my head and threatening to slit my throat was a red-eyed, black-haired psychotic angel. Even in the shadows his skin was paper white and didn't seem to have a flaw. He was looking at me with a bored interest. Just looking at me because he had too.

It was such a shame he wasn't smiling and not threatening to kill me. He might've been really good looking. Maybe in another life, who knows?

Maybe I'll find out soon.

He tightened his grip and I felt tears pricking in the corners of my eyes. I let out a whimper and stared him down hard. I wasn't going to do what he wanted and I certainly wasn't going to show any fear.

He cracked a smile as he dug the point of his blade into the side of my throat. He spoke softly, but with a sinister tone, "you're a stubborn little thing, aren't you? Hmm. I don't have time to play with you right now, but I promise you I'll make you say my name before the end of the month little one"

BB leaned in close to my ear and whispered harshly, "and if you know what's good for you, you won't tell anyone of this. But for the time being, I'll leave you with a welcome present". My eyes widened as BB flicked the knife away from me, causing the blade to nick me for a split second but not enough to kill. He shoved my head down while releasing his hand from my bundled up hair.

I landed hard on my arms and stayed down as the sound of footsteps thundered away. They stopped for a couple of seconds and my heart raced as I thought for a second he was coming back to finish cutting away. My walking stick hit my hand and the footsteps carried on like they had never stopped. The click of a latch and he was gone.

…

 _Fuck this place. Fuck it!_

With psychotic bastards like that roaming the halls I'd rather be in the hospital. Or shut myself in my beautiful room and never come out again. That's it. I'd ask Watari for enough locks to seal a vault.

With one hand tight on the cut on my throat and the other holding my cane, I made my way back inside. I made it most of the way before a red blinking light caught my attention in two spots on the outside of the building. L could see me?...

I stopped walking and my legs wobbled a little. I could feel my blood under my shirt now. I tried to hold more pressure down on it but I was getting tired now. As I knew I was safer now, I relaxed. I had wavered and before I knew it, I was lying on my side on the floor. I felt nothing but relief.

The camera was flashing green now, not red. Maybe I had imagined it flashing red? No… I was so sure… I thought I heard a noise, so I turned my head to look at the open door. I saw someone, but with the light from inside, I only got an outline of who it was. My eyes became unfocused. I didn't care who it was. Why should I? Then a thought hit me, Was I having a panic attack?

I forced myself to take a slow long breath in. My lungs were burning again. Ah. Alright. Found the problem, now I can fix it. While I was remembering to breathe, a pair of socks were stood next to my face. Had they always been there? Oo. There's some sound too, I zoned back in so I could listen.

"-lright? Cmon! I know you can't talk, but just look at me." I knew that voice. Who was it?

A pair of hands moved me onto my back and immediately cussed. He called for Mello and scooped me up. I was bounced around a little be on our travels back into the games room, the kitchen and back to the sofa I had woken up on last time I came downstairs. I could see Matt now, holding my neck for me. He smiled a little when he noticed my eyes were open.

"Hey. Are you awake? Okay. That's good. What happened to you?" Matt asked in a rather soft voice. He kept glancing between me and the door. Probably waiting on Mello.

I looked at my hand that was dangling off m the edge of the couch. It was a lot more bloody than I had thought it was going to be. While I didn't want to lie to him, I didn't want that psychopath to hurt anyone else either. I had to make a choice.

I mimed for a pen and Matt mumbled something. "there's a bandage on your neck, okay? Hold it down for me and I'll go grab you a pen and paper. Stay right here"

Hm. I could go hide up in my room and not have to lie to anyone. Another choice.

As Matt scurried off and I was halfway through sitting up to see if I could bolt to my room, well… If I could shuffle to my room a voice stopped me, "Don't you dare move. We've been over this. You know you should listen to me, right?"

Aw Hell. Hi Mello.

I turned and looked and sure enough, Mello walked over and knelt in front of me on the sofa. He had some baby wipes and a first aid kit in his hand. He gave me a hard look and I decided not to piss him off any further so I laid back down and looked away.

I jumped a little when something cold and wet touched my palm. I snapped my head around to look. Mello was wiping the blood off my hand with a baby wipe. He stopped when I flinched and glared a little hard before carrying on.

After being cleaned up Mello gave me an approving nod, taped the bandage to my neck so I wouldn't have to hold it anymore and took a seat in the chair he had done earlier this evening.

I sat up and crossed my legs. Deja vu, anyone?

We sat in silence until Matt came back. He handed me the paper and a pen and sat on the couch next to me, "Sorry about the wait. Couldn't find a pen anywhere. You okay?"

I nodded and didn't raise my pen. I could see this bothering Mello. He was sneering at me. I know that's how you show you care, but I'm not in the mood to empathise with you. Or anyone else. I scribbled down a question.

" _Can you help me get to my room? I would like to go to sleep now"_

I held up the paper and showed both of them. Then put the pen down and stood. Mello looked like he was about to blow a fuse. Matt stood up with me, "Alright. Okay. We'll help you. But let's take it slowly. Don't stress yourself. Mello, C'mon. Give me a hand"

Matt gently took my wrist and put my arm over his shoulders. He held it there for me. Mello took a melodramatic minute before sauntering over and taking my other arm and throwing it over his shoulders. _Ouch_

I was walked back to my room slowly. Once we got there, Matt said he'd get my cane back for me and I nodded thanks. Mello walked off after delivering me to my room. Matt offered to carry me to my bed but I refused. He said goodnight and left me to my own devices. I lifted my shirt to check out how much blood had gotten on me. Not too much. Three lines of blood had snaked there way past my chest and down my stomach. I was going to need a shower tomorrow. I stayed there a moment just looking. My blood was such a stark bright red against my paleness. Like it was meant to be there. Was I remembering something?...

Had I been covered in blood like this before? If so, was it my blood or someone else's?

Off-putting thoughts.

I dropped my shirt and got into bed. I checked the laptop but I had received no messages from L. Maybe he hadn't seen me in the garden?

I curled up in bed and tried to ignore how sticky dried blood felt on my skin. How my knees hurt. My neck was pulsing at me. My hair felt like it was all over the place. I shivered and curled up more. I was never going to leave my room again. I wonder if Watari would be against giving me a visitors couch. If people wanted to see me, that was fine. But they'd have to do it here. Supervised too. I'm not taking any chances while I can't fight back.

I drifted off to sleep eventually after I messaged L a request. I had written something along the lines off,

- _ignore this message l._

 _I Need to remember to ask watari for somethings tomorrow but chances are I won't remember Some it to tell him. I think I should stay in my room for a while, just until I'm better. it'll Help me settle in. But I'd like a lock for my room. everyone's been lovely, But I prefer a lock on my room. I don't want to risk the Danger of falling down the stairs again._

 _thank you for understanding,_

 _Clara._

Hopefully, he would get the message within the message. I waited but I grew too tired. I went to sleep cuddling the blanket for comfort. I wished for restful blank sleep but knew it was likely more nightmares would come.

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 _Another revision is done. I'm slowly working up to new chapters. I'm scrapping the next chapter entirely so, I may have to use the next one or write a new one._

 _As always, review. You can request things you want to happen in the next chapter or just request more time spend with a character. I don't mind, but I want some more involvement from you readers~ it's your story._

 _And, there's been three votes in the poll! One for L, BB and Mello. Do you like those characters for a romantic interest? Vote for them! Do you not like them? Vote against them! Do you just want a complicated story? Use your three votes and vote for those three again! Hehe. It'll be fun~_

 _Alice, signing out._


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